Infographic: Comparing Cost of Living in 15 European Student Cities

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Europe is, by far, the melting pot of all continents. With so many different countries come different cultures, different languages, different ways of thinking, and different cost of living.

We’ve whipped up an infographic (click on it to zoom in) comparing the number of public universities and students; average rent prices, tuition fees, and beer and meal prices; and transport costs in 15 European student cities:

Public Universities

The number of public universities clearly varies according to each city’s area. London visibly pops up with its 36 public universities, not shocking due to its 8,382 square kilometre metro area. It is only followed by Paris and Berlin, each with 17. Porto’s 2,040 square kilometre metro area, on the other hand, reflect the city’s need for few universities.

Number of Students

Paris clearly leads on this one: the city of lights houses 600,000 students. London follows with 400,000 students, and in an increasingly popular city, Warsaw is in fourth, with around 255,000 students, only preceded by Madrid.

Average Rent Price

It comes as no surprise that London is the most expensive city to live in: monthly rent in shared accommodation is an average of €680. The further South and East you go, the cheaper rent prices get. Budapest, Porto and Warsaw are great and very different choices if you’re looking for a cheap place to stay.

Tuition Fees

There is one country you should automatically consider if you don’t want to pay any tuition fees: Germany. Both Munich and Berlin have free tuition, along with Warsaw. If you combine these numbers with their rent prices, both Berlin and Warsaw are two of the cheapest cities to study and live in! The most expensive one by far is London, with a €10,500 yearly tuition fee, on average.

Average Beer Price

Now to what actually matters: the average beer prices! If you want to have a great — and cheap — time with your friends and keep knocking back a few beers for under the €2-mark, head to either Prague, Budapest, Lisbon or Porto. If you want to try some of the best beers in the world, Belgium and Germany thankfully price their pints at under €4. Brace yourself for a lot more in all the other cities!

Transport Costs

Transport prices are fairly average — they’re either around €10 or €30 for a monthly student pass. Leading the most expensive numbers is, yet again, London, followed by Amsterdam. For a Western European country, Brussels is surprisingly inexpensive — transport is close to nothing!

Average Meal Price

No doubt about it: if you want to fill up your stomach with great food without emptying your wallet, head to Southern Europe, where you can get a whole meal for less than €10. The farther North you go, you can end up spending as much as €17 for one (sometimes lousy) meal.